Tamarac considers putting public meetings online

City staff to study costs of webcasts

April 12, 2008|By Lisa J. Huriash Staff Writer

TAMARAC — The city looked into improving access to government by televising public meetings, but residents last year balked at the cost. Now the issue is being revisited, but with a twist - the city is looking into airing the meetings online.

Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, who campaigned to make commission meetings more accessible, during a recent workshop requested city staff research how to broadcast the meetings on the city's Web site.

Once the dollar estimates come in, the city will discuss this issue again.

"I believe in government transparency, in bringing government to our people to the best of our ability," she said. "We're never going to be American Idol, but hopefully close."

In 2006, the city estimated it would cost about $100,000 to set up a cable TV system, and another $34,000 a year to operate the system.

So commissioners put the question to the public in a 2007 survey. The results showed 51.3 percent of respondents thought the city should broadcast commission meetings on TV or the Internet, and 30 percent gave no answer.

Another 40 percent said they would watch the meetings broadcasted if they were available.

But 44 percent said they would not support the city spending a one-time cost of $100,000 to install the equipment to make that happen.

Essentially, "It sounds like a good idea, but hell no," said Flansbaum-Talabisco of the study findings.

She's hoping Internet fees won't be as high.

"If it is cost-effective, that could be a reasonable compromise," she said.

But there are some critics.

Commissioner Ed Portner said he is wary of spending money for meetings to be streamed online.

"In these times, every nickel and dime counts," he said.

And, few people show up to commission meetings now at all. Would they do it at home, he wonders.

People only seem to care, he said, when the issue being discussed "directly affects them. Otherwise, they are perfectly content with what goes on. I have offered to have people be picked up [to attend meetings in person]; nobody seems interested."

"We agreed to listen to what it was going to cost, but that was all," Portner said of the commission's action. But "I don't think enough people are computer literate to be able to avail themselves of the webcasting. "